The Qur'an -- Islam's sacred book -- offers Muslim women the same rights as men but traditionally has been misinterpreted, denying them those rights. That argument is convincingly made in a new book by a Muslim woman who is a scholar in Islamic foundations of education and identity development at Cornell.

Said Barazangi: "The realities of Muslim women haven't changed since the beginning. The men have interpreted the Qur'an up until now, and Muslim women have been taught that interpretations have the same authority as the Qur'an itself."